chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, a single bond is a

chemical bond A chemical bond is the association of atoms or ions to form molecules, crystals, and other structures. The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds or through the sharing of electrons a ...

between two

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

s involving two

valence electron In chemistry and physics, valence electrons are electrons in the outermost shell of an atom, and that can participate in the formation of a chemical bond if the outermost shell is not closed. In a single covalent bond, a shared pair forms with b ...

s. That is, the atoms share one pair of

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s where the bond forms. Therefore, a single bond is a type of

covalent bond A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atom ...

. When shared, each of the two electrons involved is no longer in the sole possession of the orbital in which it originated. Rather, both of the two electrons spend time in either of the orbitals which overlap in the bonding process. As a

Lewis structure Lewis structuresalso called Lewis dot formulas, Lewis dot structures, electron dot structures, or Lewis electron dot structures (LEDs)are diagrams that show the chemical bond, bonding between atoms of a molecule, as well as the lone pairs of elec ...

, a single bond is denoted as AːA or A-A, for which A represents an element. In the first rendition, each dot represents a shared electron, and in the second rendition, the bar represents both of the electrons shared in the single bond. A covalent bond can also be a

double bond In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...

or a

triple bond A triple bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two atoms involving six Electron pair bond, bonding electrons instead of the usual two in a covalent bond, covalent single bond. Triple bonds are stronger than the equivalent covalent bond, sin ...

. A single bond is weaker than either a double bond or a triple bond. This difference in strength can be explained by examining the component bonds of which each of these types of covalent bonds consists (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 393). Usually, a single bond is a

sigma bond In chemistry, sigma bonds (σ bonds) or sigma overlap are the strongest type of covalent chemical bond. They are formed by head-on overlapping between atomic orbitals along the internuclear axis. Sigma bonding is most simply defined for diat ...

. An exception is the bond in diboron, which is a

pi bond In chemistry, pi bonds (π bonds) are covalent chemical bonds, in each of which two lobes of an orbital on one atom overlap with two lobes of an orbital on another atom, and in which this overlap occurs laterally. Each of these atomic orbital ...

. In contrast, the double bond consists of one sigma bond and one pi bond, and a triple bond consists of one sigma bond and two pi bonds (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 396). The number of component bonds is what determines the strength disparity. It stands to reason that the single bond is the weakest of the three because it consists of only a sigma bond, and the double bond or triple bond consist not only of this type of component bond but also at least one additional bond. The single bond has the capacity for rotation, a property not possessed by the double bond or the triple bond. The structure of pi bonds does not allow for rotation (at least not at 298 K), so the double bond and the triple bond which contain pi bonds are held due to this property. The sigma bond is not so restrictive, and the single bond is able to rotate using the sigma bond as the axis of rotation (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 396-397). Another property comparison can be made in bond length. Single bonds are the longest of the three types of covalent bonds as interatomic attraction is greater in the two other types, double and triple. The increase in component bonds is the reason for this attraction increase as more electrons are shared between the bonded atoms (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 343). Single bonds are often seen in

diatomic molecule Diatomic molecules () are molecules composed of only two atoms, of the same or different chemical elements. If a diatomic molecule consists of two atoms of the same element, such as hydrogen () or oxygen (), then it is said to be homonuclear mol ...

s. Examples of this use of single bonds include H₂, F₂, and HCl. Single bonds are also seen in molecules made up of more than two atoms. Examples of this use of single bonds include: *Both bonds in H₂O *All 4 bonds in CH₄ Single bonding even appears in molecules as complex as

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...

s larger than methane. The type of covalent bonding in hydrocarbons is extremely important in the

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

of these molecules. Hydrocarbons containing only single bonds are referred to as

alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in whi ...

s (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 334). The names of specific molecules which belong to this group end with the suffix -ane. Examples include

ethane Ethane ( , ) is a naturally occurring Organic compound, organic chemical compound with chemical formula . At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is List of purification methods ...

, 2-methylbutane, and

cyclopentane Cyclopentane (also called C pentane) is a highly flammable alicyclic compound, alicyclic hydrocarbon with chemical formula C5H10, C5H10 and CAS number 287-92-3, consisting of a ring of five carbon atoms each bonded with two hydrogen atoms above and ...

(Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs 335).

References

{{Chemical bonds Chemical bonding

See also

References